Excavation of Samarra (Iraq): Fragments of Prehistoric Vessels and Artifacts, Found in the Pre-Islamic Cemetery Located at Shabbat al-Hawa [drawing]

Creator:

Herzfeld, Ernst 1879-1948

Subject:

Herzfeld, Ernst 1879-1948

Physical description:

1 drawing : 22.7 cm. x 29.7 cm

Type:

Drawings

Place:

Iraq, Salah ad-Din, Samarra, Shabbat al-Hawa

Asia

Iraq

Mesopotamia

Sāmarrā' (Iraq)

Date:

1911-1913

Topic:

Antiquities

Architectural drawing

Excavations (Archaeology)

Parthians

Pottery

Local number:

FSA A.6 05.1111h

Notes:

- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Thomas Leisten's publication, Excavation of Samarra, vol 1

Summary:

- Original caption reads, "Samarra - Book 3."

- Additional information reads, "IN-368; IN-368; IN-371."

- "During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā (which Herzfeld transcribes as Shabbat al-Hawīy) located right on the rift north of the city, they found a pre-Islamic cemetery beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery, better known from Herzfeld's diary as the Parthian cemetery, was explored between May 15 - 25. No other trace of settlement, which would have explained the existence of a cemetery, was found and Herzfeld decided to give up searching for it." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.14."]

- "During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā (which Herzfeld transcribes as Shabbat al-Hawīy) located right on the rift north of the city, they found a pre-Islamic cemetery beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery, better known from Herzfeld's diary as the Parthian cemetery, was explored between May 15 - 25. No other trace of settlement, which would have explained the existence of a cemetery, was found and Herzfeld decided to give up searching for it." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.14."]

- "During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā (which Herzfeld transcribes as Shabbat al-Hawīy) located right on the rift north of the city, they found a pre-Islamic cemetery beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery, better known from Herzfeld's diary as the Parthian cemetery, was explored between May 15 - 25. No other trace of settlement, which would have explained the existence of a cemetery, was found and Herzfeld decided to give up searching for it." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.14."]

- "During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā (which Herzfeld transcribes as Shabbat al-Hawīy) located right on the rift north of the city, they found a pre-Islamic cemetery beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery, better known from Herzfeld's diary as the Parthian cemetery, was explored between May 15 - 25. No other trace of settlement, which would have explained the existence of a cemetery, was found and Herzfeld decided to give up searching for it." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.14."]

- "During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā (which Herzfeld transcribes as Shabbat al-Hawīy) located right on the rift north of the city, they found a pre-Islamic cemetery beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery, better known from Herzfeld's diary as the Parthian cemetery, was explored between May 15 - 25. No other trace of settlement, which would have explained the existence of a cemetery, was found and Herzfeld decided to give up searching for it." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.14."]

- "During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā (which Herzfeld transcribes as Shabbat al-Hawīy) located right on the rift north of the city, they found a pre-Islamic cemetery beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery, better known from Herzfeld's diary as the Parthian cemetery, was explored between May 15 - 25. No other trace of settlement, which would have explained the existence of a cemetery, was found and Herzfeld decided to give up searching for it." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.14."]

- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive

- Series title in Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive reads, "Records of Samarra Expeditions."

- Since these are primary sources, handwritten captions in the sketchbook are specified in three stages: (1) an English designation following Thomas Leisten and Alastair Northedge's terminology; (2) the transcribed original caption in German which is provided under parenthesis; and (3) additonal information from Herzfeld's publication, "Der Wandschmuck der Bauten von Samarra und Seine Ornamentik. Verlag Dietrich Reimer, Ernst Vohsen, Berlin, 1923." and Thomas Leisten's publication, "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003" which is provided under bracket

Summary:

- The third of a series of eighteen sketchbooks (Skizzenbücher), in which Ernst Herzfeld recorded his observations on topography, landscape, archaeological remains, architecture, artifacts and decorative motifs, related to the congregational mosques in Samarra, Mutawakkiliyya, and Balkuwārā (Manqūr); the Qubbat al-Ṣulaibiyya; the palaces of Balkuwārā, Ṣūr Īṣā, and the Qaṣr al-Āshiq; the residential architecture and the baths; and finally the pre-Islamic cemetery located at Shabbat al-Hawā (Parthian cemetery, Shabbat al-Hawīy)

- The identification of the residential sites: "Herzfeld numbered all sites while the excavation was still in progress. When it became obvious that two courtyards with adjacent rooms turned out to belong to the same complex, however, he assigned new numbers. Herzfeld gave numbers to 16 houses in various locations, splitting certain buildings into, for instance, House Va or XIb, naming in all 24 different sites. [...]. Unfortunately, Herzfeld changed the numbering of the houses a third time when he finished the final drawings for the publication, including only 14 houses. [...]. In those cases in which Herzfeld noted on his field sketch either the name of the area or the new numbering of the house we can at least identify the site. These records indicate al-Quraina (Qurainah) as the location of Houses I-VI, connect al-Qāṭūn with House XI, the area of Ṣūr Īṣā with Houses VIII and IX, and a House XVII with Jubairiyya." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.121."]

- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive

- Series title in Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive reads, "Records of Samarra Expeditions."

- Since these are primary sources, handwritten captions in the sketchbook are specified in three stages: (1) an English designation following Thomas Leisten and Alastair Northedge's terminology; (2) the transcribed original caption in German which is provided under parenthesis; and (3) additonal information from Herzfeld's publication, "Der Wandschmuck der Bauten von Samarra und Seine Ornamentik. Verlag Dietrich Reimer, Ernst Vohsen, Berlin, 1923." and Thomas Leisten's publication, "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003" which is provided under bracket

Summary:

- The second of a series of eighteen sketchbooks (Skizzenbücher), in which Ernst Herzfeld recorded his observations on topography, landscape, archaeological remains, architecture, artifacts and decorative motifs, related to the congregational mosques in Samarra, Mutawakkiliyya, and Balkuwārā; the Qubbat al-Ṣulaibiyya; the palaces of Balkuwārā, Ṣūr Īṣā, and the Qaṣr al-Āshiq; the residential architecture and the baths; and finally the pre-Islamic cemetery located at Shabbat al-Hawā (Parthian cemetery, Shabbat al-Hawīy)

- The identification of the residential sites: "Herzfeld numbered all sites while the excavation was still in progress. When it became obvious that two courtyards with adjacent rooms turned out to belong to the same complex, however, he assigned new numbers. Herzfeld gave numbers to 16 houses in various locations, splitting certain buildings into, for instance, House Va or XIb, naming in all 24 different sites. [...]. Unfortunately, Herzfeld changed the numbering of the houses a third time when he finished the final drawings for the publication, including only 14 houses. [...]. In those cases in which Herzfeld noted on his field sketch either the name of the area or the new numbering of the house we can at least identify the site. These records indicate al-Quraina (Qurainah) as the location of Houses I-VI, connect al-Qāṭūn with House XI, the area of Ṣūr Īṣā with Houses VIII and IX, and a House XVII with Jubairiyya." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003; p.121."]

- Title is provided by Xavier Courouble, FSg Archives cataloger, based on Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive

- Series title in Joseph Upton's Catalogue of the Herzfeld Archive reads, "Records of Samarra Expeditions."

Summary:

- Original caption in German reads, "Fund Journal." Translated caption in English reads, "Finds Journal."

- Additional information for the first campaign reads, "Herzfeld started to excavate at the Great Mosque of Samarra on January 9 and finished the work on February 26, 1911 [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-1 through IN-46]. The same day that the excavation in the Great Mosque was closed, work began at al-Quraina. Here, Houses I-X were excavated mainly during March and the first week of April 1911. Work on House IX continued through May since outstanding fresco paintings were discovered there [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-47 through IN-50; IN-61 through IN-65; IN-69 through IN-205; IN-208]. In the first week of April, Herzfeld split his groups of workers to be able to examine three more sites simultaneously. In a two-day campaign he cleared House XI at Qātūn [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-206 and IN-207]. At the same time, excavation began on a residential complex situated to the west of Ṣūr Īṣā palace [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-209; IN-215 through IN-227; IN-257 through IN-266]. Finally two baths were discovered to the west of the Great Mosque [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-210 through IN-214; IN-267]. Activity at all three sites ended between April 9 and 11. Herzfeld spent the third week of April documenting the excavations in the Great Mosque and registering small finds. In the second half of May [May 8-28] Herzfeld started to work on two more sites. During work at a place called Shabbat al-Hawā, they found a pre-islamic cemeterey beneath the Islamic layers. The cemetery was explored between May 15-25 [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-295 through IN-384; IN-477 through IN-480]. A second excavation was carried out in what Herzfeld then referred to as House XVII (May 15-28) north of Jubairiyya [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-385 through IN-403]. More excavations of residential architecture were undertaken to the north of the modern city in an area called 'kūra,' [May 8-13] [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-270 through IN-294]. With a few of the remaining workers Herzfeld moved to the Qaṣr al-Āshiq on May 28, only to leave them on June 3 for the first of a series of excursions he took in the course of both campaigns. He returned as late as June 30 [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-404 through IN-476]. On the way back he visited the mausoleum at al-Dūr for the first time. On July 13, Herzfeld complained that work in Āshiq had not brought results. In an attempt to change this situation he sent his trusted friend Shaul to Ḥilla to hire workmen from this region. With a total of 70 workers he began to clear structures at Manqūr during the last week of July that soon turned out to be the central audience hall of Balkuwārā [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-481 to IN-488; IN-491 to IN-499]. On August 30, Herzfeld, convinced of the need for plans in order to obtain funding for a second campaign in Samarra, decided to stop the excavation at Manqūr immediately and to suspend all excavations for two more months until the arrival of Friedrich Sarre in October 1911. During the first week of December 1911, Herzfeld was still at work finishing the leveling of Qaṣr al-Āshiq [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-500 through IN-508]. Only now, in the last two weeks of the first campaign in Samarra [December 9-25], were Viollet's finds examined. On the last day before he left {December 9-11], Bartus by chance found a building on the west side of the Shāri al-Aẓam. The walls were covered with a set of frescoes showing human figures and various animals, the most interesting so far discovered in this campaign [According to the Finds Journal, finds were collected and listed as IN-513 to IN-516]. [The last registered entry (IN-553) for the first campaign in Samarra reads, "December 18, 1911."]. On December 25, Bedri Bey arrived at Samarra and drew up an official letter ending the campaign according to the proposal of both Sarre and Herzfeld. An inventory of all the finds and tools was made and they were prepared for storage." [Leisten, Thomas, 2003: "Excavation of Samarra, v. I. Architecture : Final report of the first campaign 1910-1912. Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein, 2003. p. 11-19."]

- Additional information for the second campaign reads, "The second campaign's excavation was mainly concerned with the Dār al-Khilāfa. According to the Finds Journal, The first find (IN-554) of the second campaign was collected and registered on December 3, 1912. Finds registered as IN-554 through IN-829 were carefully listed with sketches, location, description, date of discovery, inventory number and cross-references to photographs and sketchbooks. The last find of the second campaign (IN-1004) has no date since dates of discovery were consistently provided through IN-948 only."

- Additional information for the end section of the Finds Journal reads, "The remaining registered finds (IN-1005 through IN-1161) appear to have been unconsistently listed at a later period. Sketches, location, description, date of discovery, and cross-references to photographs and sketchbooks are partly missing for most of the entries. The locations appear to cover various excavated sites from both the first and the second campaign in Samarra."